Live-painting of giant mural summons steady crowds in Old Strathcona

Like roots from a tree, an energized and curious atmosphere has been growing at the base of an iconic new mural in Old Strathcona being painted by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel and his team.

The colourful six-storey mural of a giant humanoid dog, two cats and three trees started Saturday and is due to be finished Tuesday — a staggering pace for public art.

At the foot of the Crawford Block (10318 83 Ave.), onlookers and fans of the artist have been taking selfies, testing their Spanish and bringing gifts to the 37-year-old, who has work worldwide, including on the cover of the international art magazine Juxtapoz. An anthill of local media has been constant.

The largely crowdfunded project was kick-started by Edmonton filmmaker and restaurant owner Michael Maxxis, who — full disclosure — a few months back asked me to suggest and work with an artist to compliment the two-storey Cleon Peterson scene on the north side of the restaurants El Cortez and Have Mercy, immediately east of the vibrant new composition.

We looked for something dynamic yet gentler to balance and symbolically converse with the Peterson mural, which depicts figures in battle — leaving here, Peterson immediately went on to paint couples ballroom dancing under the Eiffel Tower.

“He’s so violent!” San Miguel laughs. “My favourite is in Paris, a nice change — super good. This is the first time I’ve told anyone, but I’m curating a big festival in Spain next year and I want to bring him in.”

San Miguel works with a wide pantheon of figures — although he was inspired specifically by Alberta’s wild canines and felines, as well as the province’s hills, mountains and — note the bottom of the enormous painting — its water and oil. The scene hints at an animistic, posthuman creation myth.

“It came from iconic characters in my work, but also ancestral stories about animals which we’ve lost because of TV, advertising and mobile phones — money is the main religion now and we’ve lost our religion in the cities. I mix animals and humans as a balance for the universe.”

The main figure’s eyes and a bird above are full of stars. “I never paint eyes because I think everyone has a special universe inside, they just need to find it.”

Internationally-renowned artist Okuda San Miguel paints a six-storey tall mural on the side of the Crawford Block building in Edmonton’s Old Strathcona.David Bloom /
Postmedia

Maxxis notes, “After getting to know Okuda over the last couple of days, his art is a true expression of who he is as a person. His soul dances in his art.”

Edmonton’s Annaliza Toledo is co-founder of Rust Magic Street Mural Festival. She and her partner Trevor Peters painted the base coat, supplied spray-paint and the skylift — paid work for locals. She beams, “Okuda is crazy. People are bugging out. The city is not ready for this, but be prepared: there’s going to be many more beautiful murals in Edmonton. Okuda is definitely setting the tone.”

Indeed, the larger plan to summon a number of such murals through the alleyways behind Whyte Avenue and beyond is already underway.

As San Miguel explains, “People need to see and feel more art. People looking down all the time maybe never meet themselves. Art can help us all.”